From Staff Reports

GREER, S.C. —  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke in the Upstate on Dec. 1, bringing his campaign for president back to South Carolina. 

DeSantis addressed the Fourth District Republican Club Town Hall at the Greer’s Historic Train Depot on that morning.

Greer was the first of his three stops on Dec. 1 in South Carolina during his push for president. DeSantis’ other stops were in Prosperity (near Newberry) and in Charleston — at The Citadel Republican Society Dinner.

In front of an enthused crowd, the Greer event came a day after DeSantis’ nighttime national debate with California Governor Gavin Newsom.

“So one, I’m not like Joe Biden,” DeSantis told the Greer audience. 

As for Newsom, he said, “I’ve never seen anyone lie that much on a single stage.”

Supporters listened as DeSantis responded to questions on several key topics. Also, DeSantis addressed his plans to improve education, reduce the cost of energy, hold people accountable — and his stance on the border, along with other issues (and his answers).

What’s more, DeSantis shared a strong message to Hamas supporters:

“I can tell you this, when I’m president, if we have someone here that’s on a foreign student visa and they’re making common cause with Hamas, I’m canceling their visa and I’m sending them home,” DeSantis said.

As he worked to gain voters’ attention in Greer, DeSantis shared what he believed separated himself from the other GOP contenders, such as current front-runner former president Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

“I don’t think she’s shown a willingness to fight for you when it’s tough,” DeSantis said of Haley.

(DeSantis will bring his policies to the stage and face off with Haley and other GOP contenders for the presidential nomination (except Trump) during the fourth 2024 Republican presidential debate  — from 8 to 10 p.m. Dec. 6 The debate will be broadcast on-air -— and streamed online — on the NewsNation app.)

The Dec. 1 town hall in Greer was moderated by WORD 98.9 FM Radio and the Fourth District Republican Club. The governor answered questions submitted by WORD 98.9 listeners on topics like abortion, the economy and national security. 

Regarding his previous night’s debate in the Atlanta area with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Greenville-based television station WYFF News 4 quoted DeSantis as telling the Greer gathering the following:

“It was a debate that was actually important because if you look at what the left in this country wants to do, you just look to California. 

“That’s what this country will end up as if we allow this to happen. And so we thought it was important to be able to expose that — to be able to show a national audience that actual freedom works in Florida. What they’ve done in California is put leftist agenda over the well-being of their citizens.”